Sacrifices
by The Devils Song
Summary: Mikan and Natsume both believed they'd find their true love. But when they find each other, will tragedy strike? They sacrificed everything... Was that not enough? NXM.


**Sacrifices**

She saw him.

People said she was crazy. They told her to get her head out of the clouds; to stop dreaming. She never listened. She refused to. After all, she always knew her prince charming would come one day. People asked her how she would know if he did. Her reply was always the same.

"I just will. I'll feel the connection."

After 16 years of dreaming she saw him. She _saw_ him. He was the new kid in class and the minute he walked in the door, she knew it was him. She also knew he felt it to. The _connection_. However, she knew nothing of what was to happen in the future. If she had, I wonder...

Would she have still loved him?

_This is why her heart is broken. It all started last year on the 17th of May..._

* * *

><p>"Hello class! Today we have a new student! So, please, make him feel welcome."<p>

Everyone, except a lone brunette girl in the back, looked straight at the raven haired boy who had walked in the classroom. He had messy raven hair that, to the envy of every other guy in the room (with hair), somehow made him look carelessly sexy. Sharp, calculating, crimson eyes darted around the room, analyzing everyone with careful precision. His skin was pale, but somehow made his well-toned body seem hotter instead of vampire-ish, highlighting his tall stature.

A ripple of energy, of sparks, flew through the room, though it was only felt by 2 people. The brunette girl in the back finally looked up, only to lock eyes with the new boy.

She had long hair, down to her waist, that was straight until it curled at the bottom. Her skin was sun-kissed tan and her hazel eyes, flecked with brown, wide with curiosity and shock. She was petite and short for her age, skinny but not supermodel curvy or anything. All in all, she was your average looking high school girl.

Crimson and hazel orbs widened at the sight of each other, disbelieving the sight they were seeing. The girls lip trembled, the boys hands shook.

The teacher asked the boy to introduce himself for the 5th time, but the 2 of them never heard him. After realising something had gotten his intense attention, they all turned towards his line of sight, only to see the girl they had known for years staring right back at him.

The class and teacher registered the shocked looks on the kids faces, not understanding what was happening. However, the whole class heard what the 2 students whispered simultaneously, due to the deathly silent atmosphere.

"I've finally found you."

After those strange words, they both seemed to snap out of their trance and looked away from each other. Finally, the boy heard what the teacher had said and introduced himself. "Natsume Hyuuga. 16."

"Alright. Natsume-san, your partner will be Sumire Shou-" The teacher was interupted by the stoic boy.

"I want my partner to be that girl in the back there." His statement shocked the class, even the girl herself. She was never picked for anything.

A girl with shoulder length dirty blond hair stood up and growled across the room, "You _can't _make her your partner. You just can't! Sakura is the class freak. All she does is bury her head in her notebook, writing crap she won't let anybody see. No one hangs out with that loser. Someone like you shouldn't either." She smirked triumphantly as the class snickered.

"How do you know it's crap if no one's even seen what she writes?" The boy questioned calmly. But, if you looked closely, there was a fire in his eyes not even he understood. "Don't tell me what to do; who to hang out with." He turned his gaze back to the teacher. "Can she be my partner?"

The poor teacher was dumbfounded. "Uh... Sure, Natsume-san! You can take the seat next to her."

An the lesson went on with the 2 constantly stealing glances at each other.

* * *

><p>As the lunch bell rang, the girl sped out of the room before anyone else. She ran to the cafeteria and sat down to eat her packed lunch. Other students slowly filled the room, and she felt suffocated from all the people in there.<p>

Standing up, the girl walked outside with her lunch, deciding to sit under a beautiful cherry blossom tree.

The boy, Natsume, on the other hand, was in line for his lunch. Glancing around the packed room, his crimson eyes searched for _her_. He, too, had been a believer of true love. A believer of the _connection_. Though, he never told anyone. Natsume was always alone in his last school, after the incident.

He felt it this morning. When his eyes met hers, he felt it. And Natsume knew she felt it too.

Picking up his tray, he walked out of the room in search of the brunette. Finally, he found her under a cherry blossom tree and decided to sit beside her. Looking up from her notebook, her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"W-what... What are you doing here?" She managed to stammer.

He smiled at her. _God,_ she thought, _he has a great smile_. "What's your name?"

"Mikan. Mikan Sakura."

His eyes gleamed with mischief. "Well, Miss Mikan Sakura, you don't have to be alone anymore. I want to be friends!" He looked happy. He finally found 'The One'.

She, Mikan, was freaking out. "No!" She screamed, attracting some brief, curious glances and shocking the boy next to her. "No." She said again, this time in a whisper. "I... I just can't. You would regret that choice. Please," She looked up at him with eyes full of tears, "Don't build my hopes up when I know you'll just tear them down."

With that, she got up and ran to her next class, leaving behind the shell-shocked Natsume.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, he kept approaching Mikan, only to see her flee. He was getting frustrated. No more. No more games. This was <em>it<em>. She was going to talk. _Today_.

Natsume walked to class that morning mumbling something like 'allergic reactions to boys...'. As he flung open the classroom door, the chaos that filled his sight was shocking.

The blond girl from his first day, Luna he thought her name was, was huddled in the corner crying. A girl with a disgusting green perm stood next to her, jaw dropped open and wide, fearful eyes. A couple of boys, twins probably, with dirty brown hair and goofy grins (they're still grinning in this situation?), were standing on top the desks and screaming for help. Though, the class was soundproof. Other kids were off to another side of the room, watching the horrific scene or hiding their eyes. There was a huge fire, but it was only around the areas of perm girl and Luna, the goofy twins and a pile of fliers.

In the middle of it all, was Mikan.

She had a blank face, as if she didn't care at all, and her eyes were rolled back into her head. Her hair flew around her in a strong wind only she could feel, her arms raised into the air at her sides. She was the picture of a demon at that moment.

Natsume's eyes were wide and he was slightly scared, but managed to talk anyway. "Mikan! Stop it! Your hurting them!" And it was true. The flames had started to lick up some kids legs, and screams of pain filled the room. As the flames did their chaotic dance, he couldn't help but think they were beautiful in their own disastrous way. They were like silent music; a dance to go with the sound of the wind.

Mikans head threw back then, and her eyes slowly rolled back to normal. Her arms came down to her sides and the unnatural wind died down. The flames dissapeared and she collapsed onto her hands and knees.

She had a fierce bout of coughing that made her cough up blood eventually. She wiped the blood from her mouth only to see everyone stare at her in horror and 4 kids being helped to the infirmary. Her eyes went wide as she, supposedly, realised what she had done.

Tears streamed down her face as she sprinted from the room with Natsume right on her heels.

"Mikan! Mikan, wait! Bloody hell your fast." He yelled to her. Suddenly, she stooped and he almost ran right into her but caught himself on time.

She sobbed as she turned to face him with such sad eyes that Natsume felt his heart breaking. "What Natsume? What? Go ahead, call me a monster. Call the cops! I don't care. This is why I'm always alone. Always. So what? I know your scared of me. I know you'll never talk to me again. So just leave! Turn around and don't look back." She started off yelling but eventually broke into whispers and heart-wrenching sobs. Natsume then did the only thing he could think of.

He hugged her and let her cry on his chest while he softly stroked her hair.

She stiffened for a second before giving in and crying for 15 minutes straight. "I'm sorry, Mikan. I didn't realise you were in a... condition like this. I'd be lieing if I said I wasn't afraid of you; because I am. But I still like you, Mikan. I don't know you that well, yes, but I can tell you're a good person. I know you are. I want to be by your side. I can't explain it, but I do. I want to stay with you, to protect you and to be there for you. So please, Mikan... Could you let me into your heart?"

She looked up at him, her face still having tear tracks down the sides. She looked like a heart broken angel who'd fallen from grace; who'd lost everything she loved.

And she'd never looked more beautiful to him.

"Yes." She whispered. "Yes. I will. I promise." She hugged him one more time and let him take her to his car so they could talk at his house. Screw school.

* * *

><p>After Mikan had showered and changed from her ruined uniform into one of Natsume's old t-shirts and sweat pants, they sat down for tea and to talk.<p>

She sighed. "Where do I start?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Um... How about the powers? The whole Hulk transformation thing?" She playfully punched him in the arm and he smirked at her.

"Good starting point. You see I was 14 when it happened and it was all because of my ex-boyfriend. His name was Tsubasa Andou and we were really happy together at first. You see, I... One night I was at a club. You know, one of those teenager under 18 ones? My cousin Hotaru went to the bathroom and I stayed and kept dancing. This guy h-he... He came up to me and grabbed my waist, forcing me to k-kiss him. That was when Tsubasa saw us. I pushed him off of me and ran after Tsubasa but he wouldn't listen to my explanation. He just kept walking and went right out onto the road without looking. I saw a car coming but he didn't notice. H-he... H-he... So much blood!" She started to cry and sob on his chest again and he understood what she meant: He was hit by the car.

She took a deep breath and continued her story. "I screamed and ran to his side, calling the ambulance while I was there. I put the phone down cried next to him, asking him to come back to me. He opened his eyes for a second and stared at me. His last words to me were... They... They were..." She blew her nose into a tissue and continued. "They were 'I blame you for this.' And he was gone. His heart stopped beating. I closed my eyes and prayed he'd come back to life. Then the weirdest thing happened...

"An angel appeared. A God damn angel! No one was there but me yet so the angel talked to me. He asked me if I'd be willing to trade my purity to bring him back to life. I said yes. Now, whenever I'm angry, that happens. I... I still wonder if I made the right choice."

To say Natsume was speechless was an understatement. The biggest freaking understatement of the year! "So... Why were you angry, anyway?"

She chuckled humorlessly before answering him. "Luna, that bitch, came into class that morning, as if that in itself wasn't bad enough. She and Permy had a pile of fliers and at first I didn't care but then people started whispering and laughing at me. I didn't get what was happening and took one of the fliers from a girls hand. On it was a picture of me hugging my older brother, Youichi. No one here knows him, since he's 27 years old. The flier said 'Mikan Sakura has a Pedophile boyfriend? Who knew she could bag one.'. It said some other things but I was too angry by then to comprehend them and then... I..." She trailed and off and he got the picture.

"Anyway..." He tried to think of a topic change. "What do you write in that notebook of yours, anyway?"

She smiled at him. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

* * *

><p>Over the next month, Mikan and Natsume became closer and closer. They were together all the time and people began to see them as best friends, even though he knew, and suspected she knew too, that they would someday be more then that.<p>

"Natsume... Why am I the only one you talk to?"

He smiled at the angel sitting next to him under a cherry blossom tree. After that incident, everyone avoided her like the plague and saw her as a demon. He was the opposite. He couldn't take his eyes off her, couldn't keep his heart from pounding and the smile from gracing his lips. He was in love with her and he knew it.

"Because your the only one in this school who understands me." And with that, he earned himself a confused look from her. _Cute_, he thought.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled at her and gently ruffled her hair, which made her growl slightly. "I'll tell you one day."

If only he had payed more attention to his surroundings. He would have seen the people hiding, whispering, plotting. He would have known what was in store for them. He would have been able to protect her better, to prevent the tragedy that was bound to take place three weeks later.

* * *

><p>"Can you tell me now?"<p>

That was the question of the week, apparently. She would continuously ask him that, and he would always reply the same way. "One day." Now, he was so sick of it he had to tell her now.

"Fine. I'll tell you." She squealed happily. They were at his place again, sitting on the couch. Mikan was still very quiet but when they were alone she was always so bubbly. "The reason you can understand me is... I lost a part of myself too." A sad, regretful look filled his eyes as Mikan looked at him in shock.

She immediatly swalloed her curiosity. "You don't have to tell me. Just tell me when your ready." He shook his head.

"No. I'll tell you now. Before I can't bring myself to anymore." She nodded slowly and he continued.

"In my last school... I was always shunned. You see, I'm... I'm the reason my sister is dead." Her eyes widened and he laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, sucks, huh? I was walking home from school one day and forgot I was suppose to wait for her piano lessons to finish and walk with her. So, I forgot about her and left her to wait until it got dark and I wondered why she wasn't home. Mum and dad were at a meeting somewhere for work so it was only us two. I went out to look for her and heard screaming in an alley and... It... It sounded just like her." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I ran into the alley and saw three drunk bastards hurting her. They were smashing bottles all over the place, even on her, were punching and kicking and... God, it was horrible.

"I called the cops before going over and attacking them. They came at me and beat me almost to death. By the time the cops came and arrested them, Aoi, my little sister, was dead of blood loss and I was seconds away from death. They could save me but not her. I didn't deserve to be saved. My parents were disgusted with me, my friends abandoned me and I was known as a murderer. I never corrected anyone, though." He smiled a bit in nostalgia. "Then I met a boy named Ruka Nogi. My best friend now. I hated him at first since he was sheltered and loved. But then he reached out to me, became my friend. Months later, when we were pretty much inseparable, he told me he was a wizard and could grant me one wish. I wished that Aoi would come back but, in exchange, everyone I knew, including Ruka, would forget about me. So they did, and I moved here."

By the end of his tale, Mikan was crying for him. Then her eyes widened as she realised something. "Ruka Nogi? Blond hair and blue eyes?"

He nodded, puzzled by how she knew him.

"Oh my God... He's my cousins boyfriend! Ruka-pyon!" And they smiled at each other. "I guess he's closer then you think."

"Mikan..." He turned serious again as he uttered her name. "Mikan, I love you."

"I love you, too." And it was sealed with a kiss.

But the happy days did not last much longer.

* * *

><p>"MIKAN!"<p>

He swore loudly again as he continued running through the night, the rain pelting down on him. It felt like ice cold fingers were gripping his heart as he continued running, searching frantically for her. She had been missing for hours and he couldn't find her. He had called the cops who were looking as well, but Natsume was still desperate to find her.

"MIKAN!" The scream tore through his body, coming out as a sound of agony. He knew, somehow he knew, something bad had happened. He knew she wasn't just out for a walk. She was in a very bad situation.

Natsume yelled her name over and over, knowing he couldn't lose her. Not another person he loved. He just couldn't.

Eventually, as he neared some warehouses, he heard some tormented screaming. Like history was repeating itself. Tears ran down his cheeks. No. Not again. Never again. He couldn't lose her.

He ran into the warehouse, hiding, trying to see what was happening. He saw a man. The man was wearing all black and holding a gun. Only this he back of him was visible, but that wasn't what he was looking at.

There, tied to a chair, covered with cuts and bruises and with a leg that looked broken, sat Mikan. The girl he loved. He shook his head, disbelief coarsing through him. He hoped, prayed, that this was just a nightmare.

"Tell me where he is! I know you know where he is!" Boomed the man all in blank, therefore startling Natsume out of his inner turmoil. "Tell me where Kaname Sono is, Misaki!"

"I'm telling you!" Mikan scramed, pain and anger etched deeply into her voice, tears in her eyes. "I'm not Misaki Harada! I have no idea who Kaname Sono is. I don't know where he is. Let me go!" The man lifted up his gun and spoke again, this time in a calm voice.

"Tell me. Or you won't live to see daylight."

Mikan glared at him and spit on the ground. "I don't know who he is or who Misaki is. Let. Me. Go!" Fire erupted as she, once again, turned into demon form. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her hair whipped around her in that supernatural breeze.

The man jumped back from the flames, startled. Then he snarled and pointed his gun at her again. "No one attempts to hurt me, Persona." He was about to fire but before he could, her saving grace came.

Natsume leaped out from his hiding place, tackling Persona onto the floor and making the gun fly away from them, towards the flames. "Bastard!" Natsume roared, wrestling with Persona. Fire was reflected in his raging crimson eyes making him seem as much a demon as Mikan. He punched Persona in the jaw, making a tooth fly out of his mouth.

Persona kicked him off, making Natsume slide across the concrete floor. They both got up and as Persona raced towards the gun, Natsume lunged at him before who could grasp it, only pushing the weapon further towards the flickering flames.

They kicked and punched, mercilessly throwing each other near the fire. They neared the placed where the gun lay and both reached for it at the same time, still grasping each other in a bruising grip. Natsume elbowed Persona, making him fly further away. The gun was finally in his grasp and he stood up pointing it at Persona.

"Back off!" He growled dangerously as he watched him, inching closer to where Mikan was tied up. He untied her and walked over to where Persona lay, eyes wide.

He clicked the top of the gun and stared blankly at the man before him. "Goodbye." The bullet shot out of the pistol, launching itself deep into the masked mans heart. "I hope you burn in hell." He turned away from the man, dropping the gun and running towards Mikan.

Unseen by the two, Persona opened his eyes and with his last reserve of strength, grabbed the gun and shot towards Natsume. Persona then lay dead on the ground, his heart no longer beating.

The next bullet flew towards Natsume's leg, hitting him in the ankle. Natsume gasped in pain and collapsed to the floor, his leg engulfed in an invisable fire of it's own. Mikan, being in demon form, sensed this and roared in anger, letting the flames all around them erupt into a massive explosion.

It was the last time she saw him.

* * *

><p>He awoke in a white room. The hospital. He had his left leg in a cast and minor bruises and cuts covered with bandages.<p>

Natsume tried to sit up and groaned in pain, deciding it wasn't worth it. Closing his eyes, he was about to go back to sleep until he remembered something. He remembered everything.

_Mikan!_

He threw off the sheets just as a doctor came in, ignoring the pain and running towards the old woman. "Where's Mikan? Where is she?" He questioned, fear gripping his mind until only one coherent thought could be formed.

_Mikan!_

"Calm down, Mr. Hyuuga. She's just in the room next to yours-" She didn't get to finish her sentence.

"She's OK, right? Right?" Worry was filled in him as the image of her scarred form returned to his mind.

The doctor sighed. "She has a broken leg some scars and bruises, minor injuries. But there is something you should know." The doctor looked solemn and the fear returned to him. "She is blind. The explosion damaged her eyes irreparably. I'm sorry, Mr. Hyuuga. Now if you would please-" Natsume again cut her off. But this time, by running out the door.

He ignored the doctor calling him and burst into Mikan's room and seeing her there made his heart break. She lay there with a cast, covered in multiple bandages. That wasn't what broke his heart, though.

It was the fact that she stared at the ceiling with eyes that didn't really see.

"No." He whispered. "It can't be." Despite the evidence before him, Natsume didn't want to believe it.

She turned her head, hearing a voice. "Natsume? Is that you? I can't see." Tears formed in her eyes and he rushed towards her, hugging her tightly to his chest.

"I'm here. It's me. I'll make sure you're never hurt again." Tears formed in his eyes as well. "I love you, remember?" He whispered those words as Mikan threw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Don't leave me. I love you, Natsume." She smiled at him. "Did you know this whole time I've been writing about you and drawing pictures of you in my notebook? I guess even when I didn't know you, I still knew I loved you."

From the doorway, the old doctor smiled. "Natsume... I remember you now. I'm so proud of you. I'm not dead, you know. Ruka made me alive again... But I'm old now. I aged quicker then usual. I hope you know I still love you." She whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear her. She walked out the door and down the hall to check on her next patient.

If you looked closely, her name tag said, 'Dr. Aoi Hyuuga-Hijiri'.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, this was sad. 4, 617 words! New record! I know I'm meant to be on hiatus but I had to post this. I've been writing it for a month and tommorrow, May 8th, is my B'day. I'm turning 12! So, as a mini celebration, I've posted this story. I hope you like my crummy attempt at writing hurt/comfort. To be honest, I didn't plan the Aoi thing at the end. It kinda just happened. Well, wish me a happy b'day, will you? =D.

Review please. Good or bad. It could be a b'day present, ne? Come on. You know you want to... Give in to the temptation...


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